Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. — Luke 12:32-34
Excerpts from the book
Page 287 - Jesus knows that the flock of God struggles with fear about selling what we don’t need and giving sacrificially and generously to the poor.
Page 281 - Before looking at the ground of our giving in the goodness of God, there is a pressing question that rises whenever the motivation of rewards is mentioned. I turn first to that question and then to the goodness of God beneath all our giving. Why would this motivation for giving—to enlarge the measure of our joy in heaven—not turn our giving from an act of love into an act of prudential self-regard? The reason is that in all our giving our aim is that the beneficiaries—whether enemies or brothers—will be helped, by our giving, to see more of the beauty of Jesus so that they are drawn with us into the heavenly reward. No genuine follower of Jesus wants to enjoy Jesus alone.
Page 282 - What sort of love would it be if in giving generously to others we did not want to share in the joy we want for them?
Page 282 - I think some people entangle themselves in a contradiction here because they think it is loving to give to the needy without regard to the eternal joy of the needy. They think that simply giving to the poor without aiming at their conversion, so that Jesus becomes their treasure, is a loving thing to do. It is not. If we are indifferent to whether our generosity leads the beneficiary to love Christ, we are not acting in love. I do not mean we must succeed in order for our generosity to be love. Our aim may not be attained. They may reject Jesus while accepting our generosity. We will not stop loving them for that—as long as they live. But not to aim at their eternal joy in Jesus is not a loving way to give.
Page 282/283 - His demand is that we use what we have to bless others. It may be money (Matt. 19:21) or healing (Matt. 10:8) or a cup of cold water (Mark 9:41) or time and effort like the Good Samaritan’s (Luke 10:34-35) or your home and hospitality (Luke 14:13-14). The point of Jesus’ “It Is Your Father’s Pleasure to Give You the Kingdom” demand is that we be radically free from the love of money and what it can buy, and from the fear of losing the security and comforts it affords.
Page 283 - Money enslaves either by greed or fear. We are greedy for more of it and fearful of losing what we have. Jesus wants us free. Sacrificial giving is one evidence that we have been liberated from the idols that money provides.
Page 283 - Luke 12:32 is the key to being liberated from our fearful slavery to possessions. It is the dynamite that can demolish the house of materialism that we live in. Luke 12:32 is a powerful word from Jesus about the nature of God. It’s about what kind of heart God has—what makes God glad, not merely what he has or does.
Page 284 - Notice every amazing part of this extravagantly gracious verse: “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” In other words, God is not acting in this generous way in order to cloak and hide some malicious motive.
Page 284 - Jesus’ meaning is inescapable: God is acting here in freedom. He is not under constraint to do what he doesn’t really want to do. At this very point, when he gives his flock the kingdom, he is acting out of his deepest delight.
Page 284 - Then consider the phrase “your Father’s.” “Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Jesus does not say, “It is your employer’s good pleasure to pay you your salary.” He does not say, “It is your slavemaster’s good pleasure to provide your lodging.” He does not even say, “It is your king’s good pleasure to bestow the kingdom.” He chooses every word in this sentence to help us get rid of the fear that God is ill-disposed to us. So
he calls God our “Father.”.....God Is the Best of Fathers—Far Better Than the One You Had!
Page 285 - Jesus says, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him,
“Then the sons are free.” God does not levy taxes against his children.
Page 285 - Then consider the word “give.” “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Page 286 - Then consider the word “flock.” “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Jesus is piling up the metaphors. God is our Father. And since he gives us a kingdom, he must be a King. And since we are his flock, he must be a Shepherd. Jesus is at pains to choose every word he can to make his point clear: God is not the kind of God who begrudges his blessings.
Page 286 - Then ponder the word “little.” “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Why does he say “little flock”?........ but I will use all my power to take care of you because you are precious to me. So “little flock” carries the connotation of affection and care.
Page 287 - Finally, consider the word “kingdom.”.....He doesn’t promise to give money (Luke 18:25)....He doesn’t promise popularity or fame or admiration among men (Luke 6:22).... He doesn’t even promise security in this life. (Luke 21:16).... What does he promise to give to his little flock—to prove once and for all that it is not only his good pleasure to give, but that it is
his good pleasure to give big? He promises to give them the kingdom of God.
Page 287 - It means simply and staggeringly and unspeakably that the omnipotent rule and authority of the King of the universe will be engaged forever and ever on behalf of the little flock of God. Who can describe what it will be like when that saying comes to pass that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper, “I assign to you as my Father has assigned to me a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom” (Luke 22:29-30)?
Page 287/288 - Jesus knows that the flock of God struggles with fear about selling what we don’t need and giving sacrificially and generously to the poor...... Therefore, the Lord is at pains in Luke 12:32 to free us from this fear by telling us the truth about God. He has chosen every word to help liberate us from the love of money and satisfy us with all that God promises to be for us in Jesus. Every word counts. Always read it slowly.
Fear not,
little
flock,
for it is your Father’s
good pleasure
to give you
the kingdom!
Note: Dr. Piper ends this chapter with a very good story of "The Simplicity and Generosity of William Carey." Mr. Carey was a worker, a missionary....a devoted man to practicing his Christianity as he engaged in "affairs of the trade."
To that end....
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